I am a citizen of this planet, who believes there is a purpose and mission to our existence. I pursue that mission and try to enjoy every lesson, every day, and every last drop of the pain and joy we drink when we live. I live a mostly regret-free life, with each failure quickly becoming a valuable experience and something to laugh about, and every success something about which to be thankful and celebrative. I do all of this in and around my beloved Berkeley, California.

8/03/2007

Santouri in Stanford

The Persian Student Association of Stanford University will have a very special presentation of Dariush Mehrjui’s new movie, Santouri. As you may know, the movie could not obtain a license to screen in Iran. Even after several demanded modifications were made to it, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance himself announced it "inappropriate for showing" this morning. If I can, I would like to go see it in Stanford on Sunday, August 12th. Mehrjoui movies are always interesting to see, and what makes this viewing very special is that the legend himself, along with actors Bahram Radan and Golshifteh Farahani will also be present to answer questions afterwards. If you live in this area, make a note of the details, and if you can, go see it.

Sunday August 12th, 6:00 p.m., Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University, Panel Discussion with Special Guests: Dariush Mehrjui, Bahram Radan and Golshifteh Farahani will be in person and there will be a Q&A session after the movie.Doors will open at 5:30 PMGeneral admission: $20, $15 with SUID, Map: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/korean/cubberley.htm

11 comments:

Salam Mehran Jan. That was quick! It's true. It will be a treat for those who can attend. The movie is opening nationwide in many theatres, too, it seems. If you Google "Santouri" you will see. Do you remember Mehrjui's closing sequence of The Cow (Gav)? Someone told me something about it and I would like to check it with a movie buff (like you) to see if it is true. Be good Mehran.

Don't lose heart Mehran! We can catch it somewhere else if is cancelled. It is being shown in Los Angeles and Atlanta, the best I can decipher, so it will show up here, too. While we wait, take a look at this review of the movie in Variety:

Salam Bar Serendip-e-Aziz! Thank you for the link! Mehrjui movies are controversial, because they have been known to cause awareness and revolutions in the past! Anytime he makes a new movie, he is especially scrutinized.

I think the problem is that the drug problem in Iran is not addressed appropriately and honestly by the authorities. The official statistic for number of drug addicts in Iran is 3-4 million people, and those in the know say it is easily in excess of 7 million people. That means that one out of every 10 Iranians is a drug addict. How and when did that happen? Whether they like it or not, rate of drug addiction for a nation (and the youngest nation inthe world at that) is a very important index of a governmet's effectiveness and service to its nation. Be good my friend.

I emailed PSA regarding this event and this is what they sent me on Monday:

In response to the recent bans on the screening of Dariush Mehrjui's new movie, Santouri, in Iran and at the producer's request, Nima Pictures has decided to postpone all U.S. and Canadian showings until further notice. In observance of this decision, the Persian Student Association at Stanford University regretfully announces the cancellation of the Santouri screening event on August 12th, 2007.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions. We hope to see you at PSA's future events.

Thank you so very much for your kind and important comment Hoda Jan. How absolutely kind of you. I will post the cancellation information. Please do come back and visit me. You are a good Samaritan! Be good Hoda Jan.